WaterSense Product Certification and Labeling Training

Stephanie Tanner, Lead EngineerMay 2012May 2012

Meeting ObjectivesMeeting Objectives

The purpose of the meeting is to review:• Introduction to WaterSense• How products earn the WaterSense label• The new product notification process• The WaterSense labels and logos

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What Is WaterSense®?What Is WaterSense®?

Voluntary partnership and labeling program launched by U.S. EPA in 2006 designed to reduce municipal water use across the country

Simple way for consumers to identify products that use 20% less water and perform well

WaterSense aims to increase the adoption of water-efficient products and services by consumers and organizationsconsumers and organizations

A label with integrity - third-party certified, not only for efficiency, but for performance too y, p

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WaterSense Product Evaluation FactorsWaterSense Product Evaluation Factors

WaterSense uses the following factors in determining which products to label

Products must:Products must: Offer equivalent or superior performance Be about 20 percent more water-efficient

than conventional models Realize water savings on a national level Provide measurable results Achieve water efficiency through several

technology optionstechnology options Be effectively differentiated by the

WaterSense label Be independently certifiedp y

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WaterSense Labeled ProductsWaterSense Labeled Products

Tank-Type ToiletsLabeled since 20071 000 labeled models

Lavatory FaucetsLabeled since 2007Over 3,000 labeled 1,000 labeled models models

SFlushing UrinalsLabeled since 200990 labeled models

ShowerheadsLabeled since 2010Over 500 labeled modelsmodels

Weather-Based Irrigation ControllersControllersFinal specification released in 2011Labeled models coming soon

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Five Years of Labeled Products and Water Savings

53 million products =125 billion gallons (~473 billion liters) of water & $2 billion in bills saved!

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Overview of WaterSense Product Certification

System

Product Certification Background

The WaterSense Product Certification System outlines the process and procedures to ensure products meet WaterSense specificationsWaterSense specifications

EPA revised the WaterSense Product Certification System (Version 2.0), which will be effective September 29, 2012O N b 3 2011 W t S t iti d t On November 3, 2011, WaterSense transitioned to a new product notification process

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Overview of Product Certification Process

1. Become a Manufacturer Partner2. Apply to an EPA licensed certifying body (LCB)pp y y g y ( )3. Submit products for testing4. Work with LCB to complete a certification listingg5. Receive WaterSense label artwork from LCB6. Work with LCB to provide product info to EPA7. Properly label and market products8. Help EPA maintain a current registry of products9 S b i d d l b l ill9. Submit to product and label use surveillance9

Overview of Product Certification Process

1. Become a Manufacturer Partner:• http://www.epa.gov/watersense/partners/join.html• Manufacture at least one WaterSense labeled product that

will be sold in the U.S. or Canada within 12 months of executing a partnership agreement

• Abide by the WaterSense Program Mark Guidelines• Submit shipment data to WaterSense on a yearly basis

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Overview of Product Certification Process

2. Apply to an Licensed Certifying Body (LCB) to have products certified and labeled WaterSense has 7 LCBs including: CSA, IAPMO R&T, ICC-

ES, Intertek, NSF, WQA, and UL A list of LCBs and contact information is available on the

WaterSense website: http://www.epa.gov/watersense/about_us/cert_bodies.html

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Overview of Product Certification Process

3. Submit products for testing Four testing options:

LCB’ l b t– LCB’s laboratory– Independent testing laboratory– Witnessed manufacturer’s testing laboratory

S i d f t ' t ti l b t– Supervised manufacturer's testing laboratory• ALL laboratories must demonstrate compliance with

ISO/IEC 17025 and the relevant product specification• Samples must be made from the production tools and

assembled using methods established for the production run

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Overview of Product Certification Process

4. Work with LCB to complete a certification listing Include product information for all required fields

identified in the WaterSense Product Notification Templates

Include info for any privately labeled/rebranded y p yproducts

Include placeholders and a key or legend defining model prefixes or suffixes for non-performance relatedmodel prefixes or suffixes for non performance related attributes

Information must match what the consumer will see in t / listores/online

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Overview of Product Certification Process

5. Receive WaterSense label artwork from the LCB upon certification

6. Work with LCB to notify EPA of labeled products LCB submits completed WaterSense Product LCB submits completed WaterSense Product

Notification Templates to EPA at least once per month WaterSense updates the product registry by transferring

template information directl into its databasetemplate information directly into its database

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Overview of Product Certification Process

7. Properly label and market products Follow the WaterSense Label Use Guidelines:

http://www.epa.gov/watersense/docs/ws programmarkguidelihttp://www.epa.gov/watersense/docs/ws_programmarkguidelines508.pdf

8. Help EPA maintain a current registry of products8. Help EPA maintain a current registry of products Verify that your product information appears correctly on the

WaterSense product registry: http://www.epa.gov/watersense/product_search.html

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Overview of Product Certification Process

9. Submit to LCB’s annual product and label use surveillance• Each LCB must retest 15% of all the models it has

certified in each product category– EPA may designate up to half (i.e., 7.5%) of theseEPA may designate up to half (i.e., 7.5%) of these

• The number of models eligible for retesting shall NOT include:

Models tested or retested within the previous two years– Models tested or retested within the previous two years– Privately labeled models – Models covered by a base model or family of models

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27 Individual Models

minus 2 Recently Tested Modelsminus 5 Privately Labeled Modelsminus 5 Privately Labeled Models

minus 3 Models Covered by a Base Model

(17 Eligible Models) x (15% retested)(17 Eligible Models) x (15% retested)

3 Total Models Required for Retesting

IF EPA DESIGNATES MODELS IF EPA DOES NOT DESIGNATE MODELS

(17 Eligible Models) x (7.5% (half of the 15%) May be Designated by EPA)

Licensed Certifying Body Randomly Selects 3Models 

EPA Designates 1Model

Licensed Certifying Body y g yRandomly Selects 2Remaining Models 17

A Note on Private LabelingA Note on Private Labeling

Private labeling: Manufacturers, retailers, and distributors commonly acquire products produced by another manufacturer to rebrand and sell as their own.to rebrand and sell as their own.

If you control the product design and specifications and are responsible for the product's certification:responsible for the product s certification:• Open your own WaterSense certification listing with an LCB

If you don’t control the product design and specifications: If you don’t control the product design and specifications:• Contact the original manufacturer to have it include your products

on its WaterSense certification listing with the LCB• The certification listing must include the brand name and model• The certification listing must include the brand name and model

numbers that you will use to identify and sell the labeled product18

Helpful ResourcesHelpful Resources

Product Certification • http://www.epa.gov/watersense/partners/certification.html• WaterSense Product Certification System Version 2.0• Product notification templates

Compendium of WaterSense SpecificationsCompendium of WaterSense Specifications • http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/partners/product_program_

specs.html• Links to all WaterSense specifications and technical• Links to all WaterSense specifications and technical

clarifications• Link to the certification systems and other relevant program

documentsdocuments

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Overview of Product Notification ProcessNotification Process

BackgroundBackground

Effective November 3, 2011, EPA revised the product notification process to:p p• Streamline the flow of information • Improve data quality• Accommodate the growth of the program• Reduce administrative burden on EPA and its

partnerspartners

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New Product Notification Process for Certified Products

LCBs (not manufacturers) provide WaterSense with the product information for the WaterSense product

i tregistry WaterSense created new Product Notification

Templates to collect the data:Templates to collect the data:• http://www.epa.gov/watersense/partners/certification.html#ce

rtifying.html• Templates indicate the information that must appear on the• Templates indicate the information that must appear on the

certification listings and the WaterSense product registry

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Timing of Transition to New gProduct Notification Process

The new notification process applies to currently listed products and any new products added to your

tifi ti li ticertification listing

Any products that do not comply with the Any products that do not comply with the WaterSense Product Certification System, Version 2.0 by September 29, 2012 will be removed from the W t S d t i tWaterSense product registry

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Where are my products?Where are my products?

If you have submitted product information to your LCB and it does not yet appear on the WaterSense

d t i t fi t h k ith LCB tproduct registry, first check with your LCB to ensure they have submitted data to WaterSense

WaterSense will notify the LCB: • If the data in the Product Notification Templates does not

meet our data requirements• If Product Notification Templates have been successfully

processed

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Checklist for Certification Listings

Complies with requirements of the WaterSense Product Certification System, Version 2.0

Complies with data requirements in Product Notification Templates

Includes all certified products Product information matches the advertising

information that consumers will see in stores orinformation that consumers will see in stores or online

Product information is current and up-to-dateProduct information is current and up to date 25

Best PracticesBest Practices

Make sure product information is right from the beginning of the process

Verify product information is posted correctly on WaterSense product registry

T k ibilit Take responsibility• WaterSense will not be responsible for incorrect product

information or missing productsg p

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Best PracticesBest Practices

Placeholders• For base model numbers, include placeholders (such as *

or X) to represent prefixes or suffixes • Include a key or legend on the certification listing to

identify all possible prefixes and suffixes represented by any placeholders

• Do not use placeholders to represent performance-related suffixes (such as flush volume or flow rate)( )

• Placeholders should be consistently formatted on the certification listing and the template

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Proper Use of WaterSense Label and Program Marks

Using the WaterSense LabelUsing the WaterSense Label

Use of the WaterSense label is required on all certified products

Th l b l t b d d t k i l th The label must be used on product packaging unless the packaging is too small

The label should be displayed in association with any labeled product on the manufacturer’s websitelabeled product on the manufacturer s website

The label should be reproduced so that all of its components are legible

LCB will evaluate how the manufacturer and any private l b l i t d t th W t S l b l i tlabelers intend to use the WaterSense label prior to marketing the product

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New WaterSense Label ArtworkNew WaterSense Label Artwork

WaterSense provided LCBs with new label artwork in December 2011• “SM” and “R” no longer appear on the label

LCBs should have provided manufacturers with the new label artworkthe new label artwork

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Timeline and VerificationTimeline and Verification

Manufacturers will have until September 29, 2012 to replace the old label with the new label on websites,

d t k i d th i t dnew product packaging, and other associated materials

LCBs will verify that the label has been updated during annual label use surveillance activities

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Implementation of New LabelImplementation of New Label

Hard copies: Begin immediately using the new version of the WaterSense label as part of your

l i ti f k i k ti dregular printing of packaging, marketing, and communications materials

Online materials: Begin using the new label inOnline materials: Begin using the new label in online marketing materials as soon as possible

Manufacturers are NOT required to destroy old print d t i ti d t k i t lruns or update existing product packaging to comply

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New Label Use for Retailer/Distributors

As a reminder, manufacturers must provide the new WaterSense label artwork to any retailers or di t ib t h b i it t d ti itdistributors who may be using it to advertise its WaterSense labeled products online or in stores

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WaterSense Program MarksWaterSense Program Marks

• Used by manufacturer partners to indicate which products are WaterSense labeled

ct L

abel

• On products and packaging

Prod

uc • On point-of-purchase materials, when directly adjacent to labeled products

• Immediately adjacent to product photos in ads on WebImmediately adjacent to product photos in ads, on Web sites, in catalogs, etc.

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WaterSense Program MarksWaterSense Program Marks

• Signifies an organization’s commitment to promoting water efficiency and formal partnership with the

er L

ogo

water efficiency and formal partnership with the WaterSense program

• Used for materials not associated directly with a d

Part

ne product

• The partner logo in no way signifies that an organizations product is WaterSense labeledg p

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WaterSense Label Dos and Don’tsWaterSense Label Dos and Don’ts

DO

Do use the name of the LCB as text under the label exactly as provided Do use the name of the LCB as text under the label exactly as provided

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WaterSense Label Dos and Don’tsWaterSense Label Dos and Don’ts

DON’T

DON’T use an old version of the label with SM or R designations37

WaterSense Label Dos and Don’tsWaterSense Label Dos and Don’ts

DON’T

DON’T use the label in any way that may imply that other DON T use the label in any way that may imply that other products that have not met WaterSense certification criteria

may be labeled38

WaterSense Program MarkgDos and Don’ts

DON’T

DON’T distort or alter in any way the label that the LCB provided to you or the other marks provided by EPA39

WaterSense Program MarkgDos and Don’ts

DON’T

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WaterSense Label Use & Program Mark Guidelines

http://www.epa.gov/watersense/our_water/learn_more.html#tabs-241

WaterSense LabelWaterSense Label

Help WaterSense help you!• Submit your pre press promotional items draft websites• Submit your pre-press promotional items, draft websites,

packaging, or other materials that use the WaterSense label to EPA for prompt review

– Call 866-WTR-SENS (987-7367) or e-mail watersense@epa.gov

• Alert WaterSense to any concerns you may have or of possible misuse of the WaterSense label in your industry

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What’s Next for WaterSense?What’s Next for WaterSense?

Expand Residential Sector• Version 1.1 of WaterSense Labeled New Homes will allow

homes in multi-family buildings to earn the label• Researching specification for kitchen faucets

Continue work in the outdoor sector• Soil moisture sensors

Move into the commercial and institutional sector• CI water efficiency guidebook• Pre-rinse spray valves• Flushometer valve toilets

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Questions?Questions?

Product certification process New product notification processp p Data requirements

• Certification listings• Product Notification Templates

New version of WaterSense labelC b t ti S t b 29 2012 Concerns about meeting September 29, 2012 deadline

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More InformationMore Information

Web site: www.epa.gov/watersenseE-mail: watersense@epa.gov

Helpline: (866) WTR-SENS (987-7367)

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